What The Heart Wants
by halcyon calamity
Summary: After her gold medal in London, Kaylie has to decide what to do with her gymnastics career while trying not to think about a certain someone that blamed her for the end of his. But when Austin falls into a coma after alcohol poisoning, Kaylie realizes that as much as she hates to, she still cares about him. Add a scheming Payson and Lauren and you get a disaster. Nickelly, KayAus.
1. Chapter 1

_Summary: After her stunning victory in London, Kaylie has to decide her next step in the gymnastics world while trying not to think about a certain 2008 Olympic Champion. But how can she do either when she doesn't know what her heart wants? Austin/Kaylie/Nicky._

* * *

Kaylie took a deep breath as she pushed open the door to the gym, breathing in the special, indescribable scent of the Rock. After a month hiatus following the London Games, she was ready to get back to training and do the sport she loved.

The brunette gymnast let the door slam shut behind her and walked toward Sasha's office. As she began her ascent, she saw Lauren and Payson at the top of the stairs. The trio squealed and hugged each other once more; even though they'd kept in contact after the Games, they had ended up traveling to different places and were seeing each other for the first time in a month.

She knocked softly on Sasha's open the door, and he looked up from his desk; a few moments later, his face twisted into a huge grin.

"Kaylie! It's wonderful to see you back."

Sasha motioned for her to sit down in the chair in front of him. Kaylie dropped her bag near the door and tentatively took a seat.

"Let's get to the point here. What are your plans for your gymnastics career?"

In all honesty, she had no idea. The thrill from winning the individual all-around had been intoxicating; it had all she had ever dreamed of since she first started. What could she do now?

Lauren, having not recovered in time from her heart surgery for London, was hoping for a shot at 2016 in Rio. Although she would be considered an older gymnast, she already had the experience and knowledge she needed. Payson, who had won the gold on floor, was hoping to become the National Champion in 2013 before deciding her next move.

But Kaylie had done all that. She was the National, World, and now Olympic champion. She had established herself as the best well-rounded gymnast in the world. Retirement was not an option – she loved gymnastics too much. Should she keep training without clear goal? Or for the miniscule chance in 2016 that could end in failure, like Austin had done?

Austin. She didn't even want to think about him now.

At Kaylie's silence, Sasha merely said, "We can talk about this later."

She nodded and picked up her bag. As she turned to leave, Sasha stopped her.

"I am so, so proud of you, Kaylie." Then he grinned again. "And remember, The Rock is still _your_ gym."

* * *

After wearing red, white and blue leos for a while, it felt good to be back in her signature pink. The gym at the Olympic Training Center had been great, but there was still something at the Rock that set it apart. Kaylie ran her hand along the beam, smiling at its familiarity.

It was good to be back.

She joined Payson and Lauren, who were stretching on the mats and talking in quiet tones. At Kaylie's arrival, they stopped talking.

"Okay, what's up?" Kaylie asked teasingly.

"Oh, I was just pointing out to Payson that Lonely Boy is back in Boulder." Lauren sent a meaningful look at Kaylie, who rolled her eyes.

"Lo, you've been watching way too much Gossip Girl. I doubt Dan Humphrey is here. Now, who exactly do you mean by Lonely Boy?"

"She means Nicky Russo," Payson answered, while sending a glare at Lauren. "And I was telling her that there was, and is, nothing going on between us. Rigo is perfect, and he even moved to Colorado so that we could be closer."

"I'm just saying," Lauren countered, "that there has to be a reason why Nicky Russo came back to the Rock. Maybe in the form of a person." She glanced quickly over Kaylie's shoulder before saying loudly, "And _that_, girls, is why I think Sasha is way better than Coach McIntire."

Kaylie was about to voice her confusion, when Payson shot her a look that screamed, _just go with it_. So she did. "You have to admit, Coach McIntire was good at pushing us. We improved a lot under him, and without it we wouldn't have won the team all-around."

"Hey, girls," said a deep voice from behind her. Kaylie turned around to face an older, and maybe even more attractive, Nicky Russo.

"Nicky!" Lauren exclaimed, giving him one of her sugary-sweet smiles. "We didn't even know you were here!"

He shrugged. "I just wanted to offer my congrats to all of you. You looked good in London."

"What brings you back to the Rock?" asked Payson. Kaylie couldn't help but thinking there was a knowing look in her eye, but shook the idea off quickly.

"After moving to Denver, I fell off the radar. You might have noticed I wasn't at Worlds or the OTC. So I decided, to get back to where I was, I needed to get back to where I trained. Hence, my return."

"We're glad to have you back," said Lauren. "Especially after we lost a few guys, like Max and Austin…"

Kaylie couldn't help but flinch at hearing the name. Payson shot another glare at Lauren for going too far.

Kaylie recovered and smiled at Nicky. "We should all go to lunch, catch up."

He nodded. "Sounds good. I'll meet you guys outside the locker rooms." He walked back to the parallel bars, Kaylie watching him with a contemplating look on her face, while Payson and Lauren grinned at each other.

* * *

Kaylie and Leo were eating salad (not pizza – too greasy for a professional athlete) on the couch during a break in their fight for the remote control. Kaylie really didn't understand the point of basketball – all they did was shoot balls through hoops! There was no striving for perfection like gymnastics. Leo knew a million NBA stats off the top of his head, but Kaylie had only been able to sit through a full game once, and that had been Austin's birthday.

_Austin._

Kaylie felt the urge to throw up the salad she'd just eaten, but resisted. She needed to eat. Rather than that, she flung her arm out and grabbed the remote from next to Leo, switching it to a new episode of _Dance Moms_ instead.

Usually, at this point, Leo would groan and wrestle the remote out of her grasp, and the war for control of the television would continue.

It was just the two of them. Ronnie had moved to France for an opportunity in the fashion world, and Alex had moved to LA. Now that Kaylie was on top of the world, she didn't really need a guardian, but Leo was moving back to work in Boulder anyway. Kaylie was actually glad that she was living with Leo again – it felt nice to have someone still care for you. When her parents had been fighting and when she had started training in Colorado Springs, she'd become mostly independent.

Life with Leo was great. Kaylie no longer dreading coming home from a practice and hearing hours and hours on end up her parents' arguments. Her brother was very understanding of her, gave her space when she needed it, but also let her come to him for anything that she needed (except to drive his car. Kaylie would never understand the affection guys had for their cars… _nononono_. Austin – _no_.).

But today, Leo remained silent and made no attempt to get the remote control back from Kaylie, even though Kaylie knew her brother hated _Dance Moms_ with a passion. After two minutes with her guard up, Kaylie turned her brother and asked what was wrong.

Leo sighed, reached over, and pressed the mute button on the remote control.

"Kaylie, I got a call today."

Kaylie looked relieved. "Yes, brother, that's usually what happens when you have a telephone in the house _and_ a cell phone."

"It was an important phone call. To your phone, actually."

She'd left her phone at home today because she'd forgotten to charge it last night after texting Payson.

Kaylie tensed up. "What was it about? Is mom okay? Did dad get into accident? Did something happen to Kelly or Jordan?"

"Kaylie… it was Austin Tucker."

* * *

**So guys…. Can you believe it? MIOBI is having its last episode on Monday. Honestly, I was mad at the writers for making Austin do that to Kaylie. I shipped them so hard, it wasn't even funny. Now we'll never see if they make the Olympics, and the aftermath. So here I am, making up my own aftermath, haha. **

**I usually write HP so this is quite out of the blue. I still haven't decided if Kaylie will end up with Austin or Nicky, but as of this moment, I'm leaning more towards Austin, just because he was perfect UNTIL SEASON 3 EPISODE 6. I'd love your input though! Do you guys have a preference? Leave it in a review! And what do you think Payson and Lauren are up to?**

* * *

Chapter 2 Spoiler:

"_Kaylie, I'm not telling you if you should give him a chance or not. I'm just saying that… he sounded really, really, drunk when he called. I have no idea why he was drunk during the day. He was apologizing over and over… and then the line went dead."_


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm seriously overwhelmed with the response I got. I didn't think there was a lot of people that read MIOBI fanfiction. Either way, I just had to write because I still can't get them out of my head. I really should be studying for AP tests… oh and there's a bit of foul language in this, which is why this was rated T.**

* * *

"Kaylie… it was Austin Tucker."

Immediately, Kaylie stood up from her spot on the sofa and tried to move towards the exit of the living room. Leo put both of his hands on her shoulders in an effort to stop her, but she shook them off.

Kaylie looked up to her brother, tears threatening to well up in her eyes. "Don't you _dare _tell me to call him back. What's done is done… by _him_. Need I remind you that he's the one who decided to end it? Do you even realize how much it hurt?"

"Kaylie, I'm not telling you if you should give him a chance or not. I'm just saying that… he sounded really, really, drunk when he called. I have no idea why he was drunk during the day. He was apologizing over and over… and then the line went dead."

The first thing Kaylie wanted to do was to ask if he was alright. But then she remembered… he was no longer hers to worry about. She wasn't his girlfriend anymore. In fact, she was his biggest mistake – he'd made that clear already.

"His cell phone probably ran out of battery. Maybe he dropped it in the pool at a party."

"Kaylie –"

"I don't need him, and I don't need you to tell me what to do about him. I was perfectly fine when you were gone, Leo."

"Fine? You call your eating disorder _fine_?"

Kaylie's face turned stony. Leo sighed and ran his hand through his hair, trying to backtrack, but she had already pushed past him and run up the stairs.

* * *

"Can you believe what he did, Kels? He was the one that wanted this. That bastard had no right to call me, even if he _was_ ridiculously drunk."

After their time together at the Training Center, Kaylie and Kelly had maintained their friendship, especially with the mana-momster off Kelly's back. During the one-month hiatus, they had often met up, considering Boulder and Denver weren't that far away from each other. Kaylie knew that if she talked to Lauren or Payson, they would both agree with her – and she was grateful for that – but right now she needed ah honest opinion. Kelly always told it straight up, which, for once, was something Kaylie wanted out of her.

Instead of Kelly's expected badmouthing, though, Kaylie heard silence, followed by a rustling of sheets. Then a hiss of "stop it!" and a light smack.

Oh. My. God.

Kaylie's face heated up in embarrassment. Did she actually just call Kelly when she was busy with, er, late-night activities? "Kels, I can call you back if this isn't a good time…"

"No, no, no!" Kelly denied. Kaylie thought she heard the sound of something heavy falling. "I… uh… smuggled in this dog, because it was desperate, and now it won't leave me alone."

"Okaaaaaaay. Anyway, what do you think I should do?"

Kelly paused. "What if I told you that he was really sorry? That he can't concentrate on gymnastics and has been nursing a hangover every day of the week?"

"And how would you know that?"

"Umm… he's been at Denver Elite for the past week?'

"WHAT?" Kaylie leapt up from her bed. "Say you're lying. Tell me this isn't true."

"It's not true -"

Kaylie breathed a sigh of relief.

"-but then I would be lying to you."

"KELLY. Why didn't you _tell_ me?"

"Kaylie, you threatened to castrate me if I spoke a word about him ever again! This time I actually took you seriously."

Kaylie groaned. "Okay. But is he," she hesitated for a second, "is he alright?"

"I don't know. He's antisocial and won't talk to anyone except Marty. He shows up early in the mornings to train, but he can't land any of the moves he's working on. Then he snapped at Marty today and he ended up getting kicked out because Marty said he 'needed to fix his attitude.' That's probably why he was drunk in the middle of the day."

Kaylie sighed. "Kelly, tell me, honest to god, what should I do?"

'I can't tell you what to do," she answered. "What he did to you was really shitty of him, and I would be pissed at him too… but he's really breaking down without you, Kay. And I don't know if _you_ can live with that."

* * *

The Olympic Training Center had been a paparazzi-free zone. Because of that, Austin and Kaylie's break-up hadn't been publicized, although most of the athletes had known that the Golden Couple had been broken apart by their very own sport.

But when Kaylie started jogging to the gym that morning, keys in hand, she was bombarded by camera flashes and reporters. "Kaylie, is it true that you and Austin are no longer a thing?" "A close source of yours says that the end of the romance was caused by his failure to make the Olympic team. Is this true?" "Did Austin stop training at the Rock because of this?" "Is 'Kalicky' now a possibility of the near future?"

Kaylie had no doubt that the "close source" they were referring to was Wendy Capshaw, who had refused to cooperate, even when they had been teammates in London. And once Kaylie had found that it had been her who had put the banned substances into her drink, war was declared. When Capshaw came in fourth in the individual all-around and didn't make the medal stand, none of her teammates had felt sorry for her.

Kaylie's fingers curled around her keys, their aged metal edges digging into her palms. She'd decided to jog to practice today because it cleared her mind, but she would give anything now to avoid the paparazzi.

A black sports car with tinted windows pulled up next to her, and Kaylie struggled through the sea of reporters to make it to the passenger door. After firmly shutting the door, she turned to thank her savior.

"Nicky?"

He grinned. "Looks like you needed a ride."

"Yeah. But why were you coming from this direction?"

He fumbled. "I needed, to, uh… pick up some stuff at Safeway. Not a lot of stores open this early, you know."

Kaylie nodded. When they got to the gym and Nicky grabbed his bag from the trunk, though, Kaylie saw no grocery bags in sight.

* * *

"Did you _see_ the demise of KayAus all over the news today?" asked Lauren. She shoved her remaining things in the locker and slammed the door shut. "She won't even talk about him. The only way we can get her to move on is to help her see that she can still get the butterflies. And who's to say it can't by Nicky? It happened once, it can happen again."

"Technically, they never really _happened_," Payson answered while carefully folding her clothes and putting them in her bag. "And I don't want to push Kaylie into anything. She only recovered from anorexia not that long ago. Right now, she needs to focus on what she's going to do in gymnastics, not worry about her past love life."

"Hel-_lo_? Once Sasha hears the news officially, he'll go ballistic. He'll go on and on about how this is exactly why there is a no-dating rule at the Rock. Soon he won't let us date _anybody, _and then you can say goodbye to Rigo and your perfect little relationship."

Payson bit her lip. "What exactly did you have in mind?"

Lauren smirked. "Okay, so Kaylie and Nicky…"

* * *

**I think this is the fastest update I've ever done in my life. Now that Payson and Lauren's intentions are officially out, do you have any ideas? And hm... why was Nicky lying about driving from that direction?  
**

**I actually started to like Kelly Parker's character after they revealed her horrible mother and everything. I'm glad Kelly and Kaylie became friends. Do you think KP's telling the truth about that dog? Clue: it's not true OR false. You can decide what that means (:**

* * *

Chapter 3 Spoiler:

Leo and Kaylie sat stonily side by side on the sofa, their food practically untouched in front of them. After the confrontation a few days ago, neither wanted to be the first to apologize. Leo had surrendered the remote control to Kaylie, and she was flipping through channels when the Channel 5 news anchor said, in her perky little voice, _"Austin Tucker, former Olympic Champion in men's gymnastics, was hospitalized two days ago…"_


	3. Chapter 3

**So you guys were waiting for this update, huh? Here you go!**

* * *

To Kaylie, the Rock was home. The banner outside the entrance that said "Home of Kaylie Cruz: 2012 Olympic Champion," proved it.

Kaylie worked on getting back in shape, perfecting her old moves even more, fixing errors that she had made in London, but hadn't cost her that many points.

Points.

Every little itty-bitty point added up in gymnastics. Just a tenth deduction could cost you everything you had ever worked for. Perfection was what they strived for, what they never achieved.

That was what had sent her down the long, winding road of anorexia. Perfection was supposedly unattainable, but not for Kaylie Cruz. Perfect baseball dad, perfect idol mom, perfect home, perfect life with no distractions.

Imperfect body.

And then, imperfect distraction. In the form of Austin Tucker.

Overcoming anorexia had been against everything she'd been taught as a gymnast – perfection.

Falling in love was supposed to be perfect.

They never tell you Disney movies are unrealistic.

It had taken practically everything Kaylie had to move on as quick as possible, to focus on just London. And it had been a miracle, too. Austin had been right – they'd been stupid enough to let something like _love_ get in the way.

It meant that he had _no right_ to come back into her life again, with one simple, drunken phone call.

Kaylie had been distracted at the Rock, and Lauren and Payson had noticed. She didn't tell either of them what had happened because she knew they would just tell her she was being stupid, that she shouldn't even dwell on that jackass again. And they were right. But Kaylie didn't have the chance to go through post-breakup wallowing at the Training Center, so she thought she deserved some time now. The other gymnasts, and even Sasha, kept their distance.

* * *

Leo and Kaylie sat stonily side by side on the sofa, their food practically untouched in front of them. After the confrontation a few days ago, neither wanted to be the first to apologize. Leo had surrendered the remote control to Kaylie, for once, and she was flipping through channels when the Channel 5 news anchor said, in her perky little voice, _"Austin Tucker, former Olympic Champion in men's gymnastics, was hospitalized two days ago…"_

Kaylie immediately froze in her seat. _Austin… hospitalized… two days ago… _That was the day he called her and the call had abruptly been cut off. She'd insisted to her brother that it was nothing to worry about.

Kaylie was at the point of being unable to hear anything, but she managed to catch the last few words. _The cause of hospitalization is unknown._

Kaylie was still in shock when she realized that her phone was ringing. She picked it up, hearing a frantic voice on the other side.

"Kay? It's Kelly. Marty told us that he's in the hospital. Kaylie, it's alcohol poisoning."

Kaylie stayed silent for a while before answering. "Alcohol poisoning?"

"Yeah. He drank too much at once and… Kaylie, it's really bad. They say that he might not make it."

Kaylie willed herself not to cry, especially in front of Leo. "What should I…?"

"He's staying at Denver Health. Their visiting hours end at 8. Kaylie… he really needs you."

After Kelly hung up, Kaylie glanced at the clock. 6:30. It took 40 minutes to get to Denver from Boulder, without traffic. Kaylie looked at Leo, her eyes pleading.

He sighed and got up, grabbing his keys from the counter. "Let's go."

* * *

Leo honked his horn once, twice, three times. "Damn it!" he cursed, shoving his middle finger at the driver behind him. Even with the windows shut, the sound of horns honking and drivers yelling at each other was unbearable. They'd forgotten how much traffic there was, especially that night, when there was a street fair going on. Kaylie anxiously glanced at the digital clock in the car. It was already 7:30 and they were still a few blocks away from Denver Health.

Not wanting to wait any longer, she turned and told him, "I'll call you later. Go home."

He was about to protest when she got out and slammed the car door behind her, taking off in full sprint towards the hospital.

Kaylie wanted to scream. It was already 7:40 and the stupid, blond-haired, smoky-eyed receptionist wouldn't let her through because she wasn't on the list of approved visitors. Curse Austin Tucker and his stupid need for a private room. For god's sake, her face had been plastered all over the news just a few days ago!

Kaylie was about to give up and call Kelly – she would know what to do – when she heard a familiar voice behind her.

"She's with me."

Kaylie turned to see Max Spencer, Austin's best friend and ex-gymnast at the Rock. Max nodded to her and she smiled gratefully. Before following Max to the elevator, she shot a nasty look back at the receptionist.

* * *

The elevator was eerily quiet as Kaylie and Max went up to the fifth floor. They'd never really talked much when they were training together at the Rock, even with Max and Austin being close buddies. She wasn't sure if talking or silence would be more awkward, but he said nothing as they both exited the elevator and entered Austin's private room.

Kaylie almost started crying again when she saw him hooked up to the IVs and all those machines. She sat down next to the bed, but fought the urge to take his large hand in her small one. He looked like he was peacefully sleeping, like back at the Training Center when they would fall asleep while watching movies in his room and she would wake up, his body heat warming her up, his arm around hers. Her eyes would scan his body, and then she would peck his cheek and snuggle in even closer, her head resting against his chest, away from the athletes and coaches and reporters and drama…

Max spoke up, breaking her reverie. "He fell into a coma. The doctors are hopeful, but there's no guarantee…"

What did hopeful even mean? 40 percent? 70 percent? Hope was a fickle thing, that much Kaylie already knew. Hope didn't guarantee anything. Hope was less than 100 percent. Austin might die. He might die, and Kaylie would never be able to accept his apology and fix things with him.

_Wait, what?_

Max interrupted her thoughts. "Kaylie, I need to know why you're here."

This time, Kaylie could feel the tears start to run down her cheeks. "Kels said he needed me."

"Are you still in love with him?"

"No, no, _no_," Kaylie emphasized, shaking her head wildly. "I can't be in love with him anymore. But I could never let him die." Realization dawned on her. "I think… somehow, I still care for him. Just a little bit."

Max looked at her, his eyes searching. "When he wakes up, he might think…"

"I don't ask you about Payson, you don't ask me about Austin."

The room was completely silent until it was 8 o'clock and a nurse showed them both out.

* * *

Kelly smiled as she opened the door. "You came!"

Kaylie nodded. "Do you mind if I stay over? I kinda need somewhere to crash."

"No problem. Make yourself at home." Kelly stepped out of Kaylie's way and the two went to the kitchen. Kaylie looked around at Kelly's new apartment. The day she'd turned 18, Kelly had moved out of her mom's place and bought an apartment for herself, on the other side of Denver. This was the first time Kaylie had seen her new place.

After heating some of her leftovers from dinner for Kaylie to eat, Kelly excused herself to her bedroom for a second. Kaylie could've sworn she heard Kelly talking in low voices with someone before she came back out, followed by loud clattering. Maybe she was skyping a teammate or her mom, Kaylie decided.

"If you're staying tomorrow too, you should call Sasha," Kelly suggested. "You're free to stay here as long as you want, and I'm sure you could convince Marty to let you train at Denver Elite for a few days."

Kaylie thought about it and nodded, taking her cell phone out. She knew that iff she went home, she'd ultimately come back to visit Austin again, fretting with worry. It was easier to commute this way. She could stay at Kelly's until Austin woke up and she knew he was okay – then she could go home in peace and never get involved with Austin Tucker ever again.

* * *

**I watched the finale and I am sad now because technically this is in an alternate universe. Actually, I prefer this much more because I don't think Kaylie is the type of person to take Austin back so easily. I mean, she still kinda holds a grudge against Lauren about Carter, and everything. **

**I've decided that this story will be around 13 chapters, with an epilogue, give or take. The plot points are rather rough right now, but most of it is planned out.  
**

**So…** **did you guys see that one coming? Am I getting too predictable? I feel like this is a lot more cute and humorous than my usual work, just because it's Make it or Break It. I'm trying to keep everyone in character. Don't worry, there will be some Nicky mixed in next chapter! Leave your thoughts and…**

**REVIEW!**

* * *

Chapter 4 Spoiler:

"Hello?"

"It's Max. He's awake."

Four words. The call ended. Kaylie stared at the phone in her hand, unsure of what to do next.


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for not updating. Real life caught up. It's hard splitting time between fandoms, and this story isn't my priority, so…. Yeah.**

**School's almost over and it's time for summer. Unfortunately, I'm going to be very busy this summer, the summer before junior year. Please be patient with me – I have this fic mapped out, I just don't have the time to write it.**

* * *

"It's good to see you again, Kaylie. We're glad to have you here for the time being; make yourself at home." Marty grinned at her, and Kaylie smiled back, if only a little reluctantly. She'd never gotten over the fact that he'd been with her mother, and had led to the destruction of her family. But the past was the past. Both her parents were happy – not in love, but happy – and she didn't depend on them anymore for what she needed.

There she was standing, in the Denver gym. Kelly was at the bars, powdering her hands before her workout, while talking to Tessa Grande. The guys, on the other side of the gym (the Denver gym, strangely, didn't have an annex) stared at her curiously, no doubt rating her on a scale of attractiveness. Marty went back to his office, grumbling about something to do with annoying parents.

They weren't going to be her rivals, but her teammates, even if only for a few days. It was unsettling, to say the least. It always took her awhile to adjust to the new positions of the apparatuses in each gym, and now she was going to have to adjust to a different atmosphere and different people.

The Rock had always been her home.

Denver wasn't home, but it would have to do.

* * *

"No. You are _not_ wearing that. I love you and all, Kay, but you need to broaden your spectrum."

"What's wrong with it? Pink is pink. It looks good on me and it goes with practically everything," Kaylie insisted.

Kelly shuddered. "_Ew_. No. Wear another leo; you've worn that one three days in a row, and I want to tear it to shreds."

"I don't have another one! I only packed one."

It'd been four days since Kaylie started training in Denver. In that time, she had actually become friends with Tessa, gotten hit on by but firmly rejected at least half the guys at the gym, slightly mended her relationship with Marty, and explained herself to Payson and Lauren about thirty times about why she was in Denver.

The first night, Kaylie had returned home to pack a bag for staying at Kelly's place. She'd packed light, enough for a few days or so. They had expected for Austin to wake up within another two or three days.

But he hadn't, and that worried Kaylie. A detailed conversation with the doctor revealed that after the estimated time had passed, it would become more and more unlikely for Austin to wake up fully functioning, or to wake up at all.

The chances had started out favorable, but they were getting slimmer and slimmer by the day.

Kaylie sighed, and then grabbed the green leotard that Kelly was offering to her.

When was it going to _end_?

* * *

Day five.

Kaylie had dragged herself to Austin's hospital room to see him again. He was still there, eyes closed. If she didn't know better, she would have thought he was merely sleeping, not on the brink of death.

"Hey, Aus. I'm back again. I wanted to see how you were doing."

The doctors had told her that Austin might be able to hear her while he was in the coma. They hadn't said anything about him remembering what he heard, though, so she took her chances.

"Today was good. I woke up this morning and went for a jog, even though it was harder in the city. Kelly wouldn't wake up to go with me. She's really cranky in the mornings, you know? And we went to this great place for lunch break. The seafood there was delicious. I don't know if you've been there yet, but if you haven't, you should go."

She paused, looking to his face for any sign of a reaction.

Nothing.

"At practice I worked on my full twist on beam. Marty's been really helpful; I was surprised. He showed me some videos of Amy Chow, you know, part of the Magnicifent Seven from the Atlanta Games? If we have time after I perfect that, he said, he might help me do a full twisting double layout on floor. A _full twisting double layout_." Kaylie laughed, but a tinge of melancholy laced it. "Sasha wouldn't even let me attempt something like that."

Silence filled the room, with Kaylie lost in her own thoughts, and Austin lost… somewhere.

"The whole gym's really worried about you, you know. Even before you drank too much. They don't know what's going on, and they want to know."

She hesitated.

"_I_ want to know."

Silence overtook them once again. Kaylie let go of Austin's hand – she hadn't been aware that she had grabbed it in the first place – before getting out of her chair.

"Please wake up soon," she whispered, before leaving. No trace was left of her visit except for the slightly ajar door.

* * *

The sixth day started off as usual.

She spent the morning trying to work on beam while fending off Jacob, a male gymnast who just wouldn't take no for an answer. He was like Austin, but without the sweet, romantic disposition underneath – in all, a total jackass. For once, she was grateful that Kelly practically ruled the Denver gym, and with an iron fist too – one glare from her and Jacob scuttled off back to the rings.

She sighed of relief when lunch came. She, Tessa, and Kelly went to a local sandwich shop this time. Tessa was flirting with the cashier, a high school student by the looks of it, and Kelly was texting a mysterious person under the table. Kaylie checked her phone, deleting another one of Leo's voicemails (_when are you coming back?_), and replied to Sasha's email, which had a similar message to Leo's, except more polite.

"Mind if I join you girls?"

Both Kaylie and Kelly looked up to see Nicky Russo grinning at them.

"What are you doing here?" Kaylie blurted out, before slapping a hand to her mouth in embarrassment. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean for that to sound rude, it's just that I wasn't expecting – "

"Nah, it's fine." Nicky nodded Kelly, who gave him a small smile in return.

_Ah_, Kaylie remembered. _Nicky used to train at Denver, so he would know Kelly. But would she be pissed that he left?_

No scathing remark came from Kelly's way, however, as Kelly turned her phone off. Kaylie almost gaped in surprise. Kelly was always very proud of her gym. There was no way she could be find with Nicky abandoning Denver for the Rock.

"What are you doing here, Russo?" Kelly asks, a smirk playing at her lips. "I thought a little wimp like you couldn't handle Denver."

Never mind.

"Came to visit, hang, you know," he said, waving to Tessa, who waved back from the counter before turning back to the cashier. "It's been a while."

"Wait a minute," Kaylie asked, her eyebrow arched. "You missed practice just to _visit_? Nicky Russo, missing practice, not because of a life-threatening emergency?"

Kelly laughed. "So I guess he was always like that, huh?"

His complexion colored a bit. "Well, Payson and Lauren suggested it. They said they could feed Sasha an excuse."

"The blondies?" Kelly asked incredulously. "Why?"

"I think it may have to do with the fact that they're worried about Kaylie," he responded, shooting a look at Kaylie, who seemed sheepish. "Apparently, she didn't explain herself very well before going to Denver, and now the whole gym is buzzing about it. Golden couple reunited, and all that crap."

Kaylie groaned. "I don't really want to talk about it. Ever."

Kelly was telling Nicky what sandwich to order when her phone rang. The caller ID feature on her screen named the caller as "Unidentified." She picked it up, relieved that it wasn't Payson or Lauren or Sasha or Leo or anyone that reminded her of real life. For now, she was perfectly content.

"Hello?"

"It's Max. He's awake."

Four words. The call ended. Kaylie stared at the phone in her hand, unsure of what to do next.

* * *

**Hm… this was more a filler chapter. I tried to make it a little angsty – let me know your thoughts on that.**

**I've planned the fic from here on out, but it's very vague and very… changeable? I know this chapter took way too long, but don't expect regular updates from me. Ever. Sorry ):**

**It does help me if you review though. Sometimes, if you review a while after I post, it motivates me to keep writing when I'm stuck in a slump. I know you guys understand (:**

**Leave comments, suggestions, anything!**

* * *

Chapter 5 Spoiler:

"Do you remember anything before you fell in the coma? Anything at all?"

"Marty kicked me out of the gym… I swung by the store to buy some liquor… I have no idea after that."

Kaylie's blood ran cold. _He doesn't remember the phone call…_


End file.
